Warning: Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods is a direct sequel to stories in Wonder Woman (Infinite Frontier), Wonder Girl (Infinite Frontier), Teen Titans Academy, and Lazarus Planet, so Late Arrival Spoilers for those comics are unmarked.
Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods is a Spring 2022 event from DC Comics.
Written by G. Willow Wilson (and Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad on backups and tie-ins) and art by Cian Tormey, it is a spinoff of Mark Waid's Lazarus Planet. The event also marks Wilson's return to Wonder Woman for the first time since her DC Rebirth-era run ended in 2019. It also serves as the Grand Finale of Cloonan and Conrad's Wonder Woman (Infinite Frontier).
Throughout the Infinite Frontier era of Wonder Woman and its ancillary books, Diana, Nubia, and Yara Flor have all faced their share of challenges and adversities. But over time, it's gradually become clear there's been a hidden player linking many of these individual incidents and threats together: Hera.
There has been growing discontent from the Queen of Olympus and other divine pantheons in the wake of Dark Nights: Death Metal. The Metal Wars and the Infinite Frontier era have finally forced the Gods to give voice to, confront, and accept a longtime growing fear and dread: Humanity has finally moved beyond its ancient deities and embraced the superheros as their divine champions and pantheons.
Without humanity's worship, the Gods' powers and bodies will fade into obscurity and ultimately oblivion. This will not do — and the events of Lazarus Planet have give the Gods an opportunity to correct this "error".
Amidst the chaos of the Lazarus Storms, Hera has launched a successful coup against Zeus and joined forces with the Wizard (who seeks to consolidate control of post-Lazarus Planet magic — and settle scores with his onetime protegee Billy Batson). Now, Diana and her allies must join forces with Billy and the Shazam Family to stop their divine patrons before they complete the revenge of the gods.
- Lazarus Planet: We Once Were Gods #1 (Prleude)
- Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #1-4
- Wonder Woman #797-798 (Tie-ins)
Following the event's conclusion, Conrad and Cloonan will end their Infinite Frontier run with Wonder Woman #799-800. Mark Waid and Dan Mora will likewise launch a new Shazam! (2023) that picks up Billy and Shazam Family's storylines.
Tropes Featured Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods:
- Adaptational Wimp: Hyperion and Typhon are more like Elite Mooks rather than the major players they were in Classical Mythology. This is especially obvious when comparing Typhon's performance to that of his wife Echidna during Infinite Frontier.
- Arc Welding: Wilson, Conrad and Cloonan are tying together threads from both the Infinite Frontier-era Wonder Woman, Joelle Jones' Wonder Girl (Infinite Frontier), and Tim Sheridan's Teen Titans Academy and its Shazam spinoff (and, to a lesser extent, Evan "Doc" Shaner's New Champion of Shazam mini-series). The ending of the penultimate issue reveals Wilson's also tying in elements of her 2018-2019 Wonder Woman run.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Hera and the Wizard.
- Brought Down to Badass: When Mary gives up her powers, Cheetah complains she's now just a liability. Mary takes down one of the gods with a thrown brick. Cheetah shuts up.
- The Bus Came Back: Ares returns in the ending of the penultimate issue (and for the first time since Wilson's run).
- Clipped-Wing Angel: The Wizard could have just taken away Billy Batson's powers but opts to cripple his SHAZAM form instead before Hera throws him in prison.
- Cool Chair: Played for black comedy after Hera literally dethrones Zeus. Upon taking the Throne, Hera's surprised to discover her dead husband's seat of power is...actually quite comfy.
- Crossover: For all intents, it's a Wonder Woman/Shazam crossover.
- Crossover Cosmology: Besides Siegfried still being employed by Checkmate to defend the world from gods foreign to him, Ratatosk is able scurry into Olympus's Pocket Dimension because "Roots of Yggdrasil run deep."
- Deus Exit Machina: There are several gods who are uninterested in or actively opposed to Hera's war, more than a few within the Hellenistic pantheon itself. For one reason or another all of them have something more pressing to deal with(Hera's actions take a back seat to Odin's preparations for Ragnarok) or have been otherwise indisposed by Hera's machinations(she has a stumbling block in place for each patron of Themyscira, with the recently ascended Hippolyta in particular being held off by the revived Hecate).
- Discard and Draw: A variation in the final issue: Mary had surrendered her original connection to the Shazam powers for Diana. However, she's given a new set by Hippolyta for her heroic actions.
- Enemy Mine: Hera has united several pantheons, including many of her own mortal enemies in her own Greco-Roman pantheon, under the notion that they have to come together for the benefit of all Earthly gods and for humanity itself. The gods will die without actively subjugating humanity as soon as possible and humans will die long term as their civilizations are simply unsustainable without the gods' help.
- Friendly Address Privileges: Yara Flor has come to terms with being called "Wonder Girl" by Wonder Woman, but only by Wonder Woman.
- Fully Absorbed Finale:
- Implied. The ending of the penultimate issue and the reveal that a heroic Ares has been secretly aiding Diana seems to imply the event will serve as one for Wilson's DC Rebirth-era run on Wonder Woman.
- Yara Flor's presence and beef with Hera also indicates it's going to end up serving as a finale to Joelle Jones' Wonder Girl.
- The event serves as one for Tim Sheridan's Titans Academy, finally resolving the Future State-era status quo Billy Batson was stuck in by the end of Sheridan's run (and which was figuratively and literally left hanging in limbo). Similarly, Josie Campbell and Caitlin Yarsky's Mary Marvel backups serve as one for Doc Shaner's New Champion of Shazam.
- Heel Realization: The Wizard Shazam has one at the end, as he had feared Billy pulling the Rock of Eternity into himself was setting up a new Black Adam and decided to throw his lot behind Hera, but watching her fall from grace and Billy's bravery made him realize the error of his ways and confirm that Billy was always the right choice.
- Interspecies Friendship: Chief among the human allies in the gods war of a aggression is Hoppy The Marvel Bunnyand Ratatosk
- Mythology Gag: The event ends with Mary Marvel being granted her original Golden Age "Earth S" powers, under completely different circumstances.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Eros believes working with Hera is the best way to ensure the future of not just the gods, but of humanity as well. Hera herself has been exaggerating the severity of the situation both parties in out of jealously and resentment at the fact Wonder Woman is starting to acquire more worshipers than Hera herself. The gods still have eighty thousand years to live, which should be more than enough time to come up with a less destructive means to solving their problems.
- Red Skies Crossover: While officially billed as part of Lazarus Planet (and while the event did set up aspects of it), it really is much more of an offshoot (and culmination) of Cloonan and Conrad's Wonder Woman run.
- Sadistic Choice: Hera puts Diana in a lose-lose situation. She can choose to save the Amazons at the cost of humanity, or vice-versa; she can't choose both. Diana initially chooses the former, only for Hera to screw her over.
- Sequel Hook: The event fallout and its effects on Billy Batson's corner of the DCU will lead into Mark Waid and Dan Mora's Shazam relaunch.
- Spinoff: Of Mark Waid's Lazarus Planet.
- Unwanted Assistance: Io, Penelope and Bia dismiss Mary Marvel's offer to help them, even with Themyscira soon to be overrun by the un dead, when they see how indecisive she and her crisis of conscience, telling her to just go and find her brother.
- Wham Shot: The ending of the penultimate issue, which reveals it's been Ares who's been covertly aiding Diana and her allies throughout the event.
